I know the suspense is killing you! Thank you for returning to read about the rest our our day in Hakone. I left off the story of our Hakone Fall Foliage adventures yesterday with us riding the Ropeway. The Ropeway ended at Togendai-ko, where we boarded the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise. The cruise ship is modeled after a pirate ship! It held a lot of people!!
The boat ride took about 40 minutes. We started out standing on the “poop” deck. The crisp autumn air on the water made us chilly and so we headed down below decks. We still had a nice view of the coast line as we sailed through Lake Ashi. Please notice all the clouds, they parted later at the perfect moment!
We exited the ship at the second landing, Motohakone-ko Pier. We wanted to visit the Hakone-jinja Shrine and the floating Torii. As we walked to the Shrine, we enjoyed more fall foliage.
We crossed a cute bridge along the route and stopped for a few pictures. The vermilion bridge with the leaves was truly brilliant!
The floating Torii was impressive. If only the lighting was more cooperative.
By this point it was past 2pm and we were getting hungry for lunch. Unfortunately, we realized most of the restaurants had closed for their lunch service and those that were open had very long lines. We decided to grab a quick lunch from the 7-11 and eat on the steps by the pier. The leaves continued to impress us as we made our way to our picnic spot.
As we sat on the steps enjoying our lunch and Mt. Fuji Pale Ale, the sky started to clear.
It was as though we were beckoning Mt. Fuji to appear magically before us. I guess Sake isn’t the only thing to appease the Gods.
I made one more offering. (Side note edit about the picture below. Katie just sent me a message with the realization that the picture on the label of our Hakone Pale Ale was our viewpoint during lunch! Please notice Mt. Fuji and the floating Torii on the label. No wonder the Gods smiled and cleared the clouds off of Mt. Fuji!)
And I was rewarded with clearing skies.
The last picture was my favorite of the day. Like I have said so many times before, I am so happy for each opportunity to see Mt. Fuji. My three favorite things in Japan are: (in no particular order unless I’m hungry)
Mt. Fuji
Shinkansen
Maguro (tuna sashimi)
After lunch, we worked our way to the bus terminal to catch the bus back to Hakone Yumoto Station. This was the most confusing part of the day. After lining up in three different bus lanes, we were finally directed to an express bus which dropped us off in about 30 minutes. The whole day proved to be pretty easy to navigate and the Freepass was key to smoothly go from one means of transportation to another. We could bypass the ticket counter each time, saving time and confusion. I arrived home shortly before 6pm. It was about 11 hours of exploring and fun!!
If you haven’t started planning the dates for your trip next year, I encourage you to consider November. The weather is cooler and the foliage is stunning. A day trip to Hakone can easily be added to any itinerary. The beauty is breathtaking. Also, if you visit in late spring, there could be an opportunity to view the Hakone hydrangeas. I look forward to my next trip to Hakone and the one we make together!